Rotary sequence switch with radial cammed pivotal contact structure



Sept. 27, 1966 c. YAKlM 3,275,761

ROTARY SEQUENCE SWITCH WITH RADIAL GAMMED PIVOTAL CONTACT STRUCTURE Filed July 9, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 1. Q l O INVENTORS 67/448155 YflK/M P 1966 c. YAKIM 3,275,761

ROTARY SEQUENCE SWITCH WITH RADIAL CAMMED PIVOTAL CONTACT STRUCTURE Filed July 9, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG?- 5. 68

INVENTORS CHflELES Y4K/M- XEW EM EW United States Patent 3,275,761 ROTARY SEQUENCE SWITCH WITH RADIAL CAMMED PIVOTAL CONTACT STRUCTURE Charles Yakim, 612 /2 Soles St., McKeesport, Pa. Filed July 9, 1965, Ser. No. 470,717 4 Claims. (Cl. 200-11) This invention relates to a motorized rotary sequence blinker circuit switch.

The primary object of the invention is the provision of an eflicient, long-lived, and simplified switch of the kind indicated, which is adapted to low-cost production, for general commercial and domestic applications.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of a switch of the present invention, showing the rotor making closing engagement with the first of a sequential series of normally open circuit closing components;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical section, taken on the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is an exploded perspective view of the unitary contactor component, and a mounting bracket thereof;

FIGURE 5 is a horizontal section taken on the line 5--5 of FIGURE 3; and,

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of a cont-act component.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the illustrated switch comprises a flat, preferably rectangular base plate 10, a dielectric material, formed, at its corners, with holes 12, to accommodate switch mounting fasteners (not shown). An electric motor 14, having an upstanding motor shaft 16, is supported centrally upon the base plate 10.

The case 18 of the motor 14, has a surrounding lateral mounting flange 20, at its upper end, formed with circumferentially spaced openings 22, through which extend the threaded upper ends 24 of perpendicular bolts 26, which traverse the base plate 10, and have conical heads 28 countersunk flush with the undersurface of the base plate.

Spacer sleeves 30 are circumposed on the bolts 26, between the upper surface 32 of the base plate 10, and the underside of the motor case flange 20, and nuts 34 are threaded on the upper ends of the bolts, against the upper surface of the flange 20.

Upstanding on the base plate 10, preferably along one side edge 36 of the base plate. is a unitary contactor assembly 38. The assembly 38 preferably comprises a single arcuate sheet 40 of conductive and resilient metal, of the same radius of curvature as the motor shaft 16, and positioned on the base plate in outwardly concentrically spaced relationship to the motor mounting flange 20. The arcuate sheet 40 has a straight horizontal lower edge 42, which bears upon the upper surface 32, of the base plate 10, and is formed, on one end thereof, adjacent to its lower edge, with a circumferentially extending connector ear 44. The ear 44 is apertured to receive a connector bolt 46, by means of which a connector ear 48, on an insulated current supply wire 49, is secured, in electrical contact with the ear 44.

The contactor sheet 40 is formed, at equally circumferentially spaced intervals, at equally spaced intervals from its perpendicular end edges 50, with perpendicular parallel slots 52, which define resilient contactor blades 54 therebetween. The slots 52 are substantially narrower than the blades 54, and the blades 54 extend above the motor 14, to a level at the upper end of the motor shaft 16.

The contactor sheet 40 is fixed in place, on the base plate 10, by means of circumferentially spaced L-shaped brackets 56, having horizontal flanges 58, secured to the base plates, as by means of screws 60, and vertical flanges "ice 62, secured to the inward side of the sheet, as by means of rivets 64.

An upstanding arc of perpendicular, circumferentially spaced, conductive contact bars 66, equal in number to and radially aligned with the six contactor blades 54, herein shown, and concentrically and equally spaced downwardly therefrom, have outwardly extending, apertured, horizontal flanges 68, on their lower ends, which are fixed in place upon the upper surface 32, of the base plate 10, by means of screws 70, which traverse the flanges 68 and are threaded, as indicated at 72, into the base plate. The screws 70 also serve to secure upon the flanges 68, connector cars 74, on insulated wires 76. The wires 76 lead to one side of individual electrical utilization means, such as Christmas tree lamps, whose other side are connected to the other electric current supply wire (not shown) associated with the supply wire 49. The motor 14 is adapted to be energized, by means of separate current supply connections, or by means of other suitable connections (not shown) to the lamp energizing circuit.

The contact blades 54 are preferably imperforate at their upper ends, and are centrally aligned with contact points 78, centrally traversing and fixed in the upper ends of the contact bars 66 and extending inwardly therefrom. The contact bars 66 are relatively rigid, as compared to the contactor blades 54, so that, when the blades 54 are flexed outwardly to engage with the contact points 78 of the bars 66, the contact bars 66 resist outward flexing.

A rotor 80, adapted to individually and sequentially flex the contactor blades 54 into circuit closing engagements with the contact points 78, of the contact bars 66, is mounted upon the motor shaft 16, and is spaced above the motor 14.

The rotor 80 comprises a pair of similar diameter flat, dielectric material upper and lower discs 82, 84, having peripheral edges 86 which are located close to, but are inwardly spaced from the contact blades 54. The discs 82, 84 are parallel spaced, by means of a concentric, reduced diameter spacer disc 88, the three discs being fixed together, as by means of bolts 90, extending therethrough. The discs are formed with aligned central bores 92 which receive the motor shaft 16. A collar 94 is circumposed on the shaft 16 and is in supportive engagement with the lower disc 84, and is fixed in place, on the shaft, by means of a set screw 96. A nut 98 is threaded, as indicated at 100, on the upper end of the shaft 16, and bears upon the upper surface of the upper disc 82, and clamps the rotor non-rotatably in place on the shaft.

A plurality of circumferentially adjacent cam wheels 102, the same in number as the contactor blades 54, having substantially the same spacing from each other, as the contactor blades 54, are journalled between the discs 82, 84, and extend outwardly therefrom; and a similar single cam wheel 104 is similarly journalled between the discs 82, 84, at a location diametrically opposed from the middle one of the wheels 102.

The wheels 102, 104 are flat and are all of the same diameter, and are forward of dielectric material, that are slightly less in thickness than the distance between the discs 82, 84. The wheels 102, 104 are journalled, between the discs 82, 84, on bolts 106, which extend through the discs 82, 84 at similar distances from the peripheral edges of the discs, such that the edges of the wheels reach outwardly beyond the peripheral edges of the discs, far enough to engage and flex the upper ends of the contactor blades 54 outwardly, as the rotor 80 is rotated, in a clockwise direction, in FIGURE 1, into engagement with the contact points 78 of the contact bars 66.

In operation, when the motor 14 is energized, the wheels 102, one after the other, or sequentially operate the contactor blades 54 into engagement with the contacts 78 of the contact bars 66, so that, in one position of the rotor 3 80, all of the blades 54 are in contact with the contacts 78, so that the electric lamps or the like connected to all of the contact bars 66 are energized. In moving toward this one position, the wheels 102 sequentially energize first 1 one, then two, three, four, five, and six lamps. In moving past this one position, one after the other of the lamps are sequentially deenergized, clockwise in FIGURE 1. After the wheels 102 have passed beyond the arc of contactor blades 54, the single Wheel 104 makes individual operative engagements with the contactor blades 54, so that the lamps related thereto are sequentially energized and deenergized, one after the other.

As a result of the above operations, all of the lamps are, at one time, energized, then deenergized, one at a time, toward the trailing end of the arc of contactor blades, while the remaining lamps remain energized, and then, in sequence, each of the lamps are in turn energized and deenergized.

What is claimed is:

1. A rotary sequential switch comprising a support, an arc of circumferentially spaced relatively rigid conductive contact bars fixed on said support and insulated therefrom, an arc of circumferentially spaced resilient conductive contactor blades spaced radially inwardly from and individually facing the contact bars and fixed on and insulated from said support, a dielectric rotor journalled on the support and spaced radially inward from and concentric wi-th said contactor blades, said rotor having an arc of outstanding cam means adapted to engage and flex the contactor blades into engagement with the contact bars, and means for rotating the rotor.

2. A rotary sequential switch according to claim 1, wherein the contactor blades are electrically connected together, and said arc of cam means comprises cams circumferentially spaced around the rotor.

3. A rotor sequential switch comprising a dielectric base plate, a plurality of equally spaced relatively rigid conductive con-tact bars fixed to and extending laterally from the base plate, said contact bars being arranged in an are, a similar plurality of resilient and flexible conductive contactor blades fixed on and extending laterally from the base plate and spaced radially inwardly from and individually aligned with the contact bars, said contactor blades being electrically connected together and said contact bars being unconnected together, an electric motor driven rotor spaced radially inwardly from and concentric with said contactor blades, said rotor comprising disc means whose peripheral boundary is spaced radially inwardly from the contactor blades, an arc of cam wheels journalled on and extending beyond the boundary of the disc means, said cam wheels being the same in number and spacing as the contactor blades, said cam wheels extending radially outwardly from the rotor to engage and flex the contactor blades into engagement with the contact bars as the rotor is rotated.

4. A rotary sequential switch according to claim 3, wherein a single cam wheel is journalled on the disc means like the arc of cam wheels, said single cam wheels, being equally circumferentially spaced from the ends of the arc of cam wheels.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,716,164 8/1955 Anderson 20027 2,782,012 2/1957 Coyne et a1 200-6 X 3,050,597 8/1962 Yakem 200-19 3,196,225 7/1965 Dennee 200-6 X ROBERT K. SCHAEFER, Primary Examiner. KATHLEEN H. CLAFFY, Examiner. J. R. SCOTT, Assistant Examiner. 

3. A ROTOR SEQUENTIAL SWITCH COMPRISING A DIELECTRIC BASE PLATE, A PLURALITY OF EQUALLY SPACED RELATIVELY RIGID CONDUCTIVE CONTACT BARS FIXED TO AND EXTENDING LATERALLY FROM THE BASE PLATE, SAID CONTACT BARS BEING ARRANGED IN AN ARC, A SIMILAR PLURALITY OF RESILIENT AND FLEXIBLE CONDUCTIVE CONTACTOR BLADES FIXED ON AND EXTENDING LATERALLY FROM THE BASE PLATE AND SPACED RADIALLY INWARDLY FROM AND INDIVIDUALLY ALIGNED WITH THE CONTACT BARS, SAID CONTACTOR BLADES BEING ELECTRICALLY CONNECTED TOGETHER AND SAID CONTACT BARS BEING UNCONNECTED TOGETHER, AN ELECTRIC MOTOR DRIVEN ROTOR SPACED RADIALLY INWARDLY FROM AND CONCENTRIC WITH SAID CONTACTOR BLADES, SAID ROTOR COMPRISING DISC MEANS WHOSE PERIPHERAL BOUNDARY IS SPACED RADIALLY INWARDLY FROM THE CONTACTOR BLADES, AN ARC OF CAM WHEELS JOURNALLED ON AND EXTENDING BEYOND THE BOUNDARY OF THE DISC MEANS, SAID CAM WHEELS BEING THE SAME IN NUMBER AND SPACING AS THE CONTACTOR BLADES, SAID CAM WHEELS EXTENDING RADIALLY OUTWARDLY FROM THE ROTOR TO ENGAGE AND FLEX THE CONTACTOR BLADES INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH THE CONTACT BARS AS THE ROTOR IS ROTATED. 